We moved into this house in the middle of March 2001 on a snowy day. The silver birch in the foreground had been removed by the time we took possession; however, only the top had been cut off and there was a stump about 4' high creating a strange focal point.
The perimeters of the property were bordered by overgrown and badly trimmed leylandii, two whitebeam, silver birch, cherry, apple and unknown conifers which made the garden dark and dank, particularly the north-facing bank bordering the driveway which had four 25 year old trees within a distance of around 20 feet.
In April 2001 the trees were cut down and removed. Thankfully we were out at the time so did not see the mayhem which was no doubt caused! This revealed that previously there had been non-gardeners in the house and the task of pulling the garden round seemed enormous but armed with nothing more than enthusiasm and a lot of experience in creating and maintaining some half dozen gardens previously, plants were identified.
The previous methods of pruning shrubs seemed to consist of cutting off the tops, hedge-style, whenever they grew too large and this rendered some unsalvageable. The beautiful ruby wiegela came round well and the winter-flowering viburnum recovered after savage pruning. These old shrubs improved greatly when two rather sick cherry trees and a decaying apple-tree were removed from the twelve feet of space in which they had all been crowded!
Unfortunately, most of the plants in the garden appeared to be drooping sedge (carex pendula), ferns, conifers, crocosmia and snowberry (symphoricarpus alba) which are all the very devil to get rid of and even some six years later, the sedge still appears. It may be a beautiful woodland plant but there is no room for it in this garden. During May 2001 we discovered a minute pond by the side of the patio which was completely covered with green algae and was almost invisible under the weight of the snowberry and grass.
The previous methods of pruning shrubs seemed to consist of cutting off the tops, hedge-style, whenever they grew too large and this rendered some unsalvageable. The beautiful ruby wiegela came round well and the winter-flowering viburnum recovered after savage pruning. These old shrubs improved greatly when two rather sick cherry trees and a decaying apple-tree were removed from the twelve feet of space in which they had all been crowded!
Unfortunately, most of the plants in the garden appeared to be drooping sedge (carex pendula), ferns, conifers, crocosmia and snowberry (symphoricarpus alba) which are all the very devil to get rid of and even some six years later, the sedge still appears. It may be a beautiful woodland plant but there is no room for it in this garden. During May 2001 we discovered a minute pond by the side of the patio which was completely covered with green algae and was almost invisible under the weight of the snowberry and grass.
This was the back garden in May 2001 when plastic trellis had been stapled to the fence so that we could plant the clematis which had been brought from our previous house.
The first year we waited to see what grew in the garden and did a lot of work in the house.
The garden efforts were spurred on by a gift from a neighbour in 2001 of a large cabbage palm which led us to cultivate the large bed beside the house which had nothing apart from some rhubarb growing there!
A shed was bought in early spring 2002 and placed at the back of the house to provide privacy and a wind-break from the northeasters which seemed to blow constantly during our first couple of years here.
The large conifer in the corner along the back was cut down and the bed at the foot of the fence cleared.
This sounds quite easy but it was difficult to cultivate more than a foot at a time as almost the whole of a dry stone wall seems to have been buried under the "lawn" which mainly consisted of creeping buttercup and moss; the clearing of the stones to provide decent growing conditions is continual; I sometimes suspect that the stones are breeding there in the dark.
This sounds quite easy but it was difficult to cultivate more than a foot at a time as almost the whole of a dry stone wall seems to have been buried under the "lawn" which mainly consisted of creeping buttercup and moss; the clearing of the stones to provide decent growing conditions is continual; I sometimes suspect that the stones are breeding there in the dark.
The front garden was a mess; the snowberry hedge and conifers by the front door were removed and two troughs were put on the side of the garage wall. Hanging baskets to cheer up the bare walls were put at various intervals round the house.
We dug some grit into the heavy clay soil in an attempt to improve drainage but mowing the lawns in the front was a nightmare as they were very slippery; my bottom became well acquainted with the grass alongside the drive and carrying in the shopping was quite tricky!
We then discovered that this area was part of the "Seven Springs" and found that at least one of these springs was in our garden under a large stone - that explained the large amount of frogs which cause the cat a lot of fun and gardeners a great deal of consternation when they suddenly leap on the spade, particularly when they are only half an inch long!
Our wedding was planned for March 2003 and the Wedding Bed at the front was begun with the gift of a cherry tree. As it was a second marriage for both of us we needed nothing for the house so we had asked for plants or garden tokens for wedding gifts and so the Wedding Bed was born. First the several tree stumps had to be chipped out but we did not attempt the impossible in digging over the bed - roots from forsythia and privets which had been cut down the previous autumn were still making this difficult - and time was of the essence if the bed was to be completed by spring. Choosing and planting the trees and shrubs gave us much pleasure.
The front of the house had ivy growing up it which was almost to the roof so we decided to kill it by cutting it through the roots. This is apparently standard practice and kills it off quite well; not in our case though. It took several attempts to stop it re-growth from the roots although a local landscape gardener assured me that this would not happen.
The front of the house had ivy growing up it which was almost to the roof so we decided to kill it by cutting it through the roots. This is apparently standard practice and kills it off quite well; not in our case though. It took several attempts to stop it re-growth from the roots although a local landscape gardener assured me that this would not happen.
Of course, this left the problem of the unsightly dead bits which were too high to reach without scaffolding so a clematis montana was planted and encouraged to grow up the skeleton; to date that is ongoing but as the front of the house faces north I do not have great hopes for this!
This was the bank leading to the side garden which seemed to have very little to look at other than the pretty grotty wall and fence. So a lot of work was needed both in planning and planting to bring it up to the standard in this picture below
which was taken in April 2009.
which was taken in April 2009.
May 2001
April 2009
May 2001
May 2001
May 2007
May 2003
May 2001
May 2001
May 2002
May 2003